Pages

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Blog Tag

Meg over at The Terrible Desire tagged me in this thing and I guess it's only proper that I do my part and keep it going. I'm watching the Grammy's while I do this, so let's do this thing.

*edit* my brain got so tired that I couldn't finish - so the second part of this was finished on Valentine's Day

FIRST - 11 Supposedly Fun Facts that May Or May Not Be True

My favorite writers are David Foster Wallace, Stephen King, and John Steinbeck. And Stephanie Meyer, of course.*

In the mid-late 90's I followed Phish and one night we broke down in Junction City, Kansas. We left the car and took a Greyhound bus to Denver, which was in the middle of the Terry Nichols trial. Since we didn't have a car and had spent our last cash on bus tickets, we were homeless in Denver that night after the show. It was November, very cold and I was jealous of the professional-homeless that were sleeping on the steam-grates. That Phish concert was later released as Live Phish Volume 11. I'm an indie-rock kind of guy these days. That Bon Iver guy that just won the Grammy - I love that guy.

Way back in 1996 I met my future wife at a freshman part. I boogied up next to her and did my best moves - she took one look at me and walked away in disgust. A year and half later I convinced her that I was funny, if not disarmingly handsome, and thus we started kissing on each other. The rest, as they say, is history.

I grew up on the south shore of Massachusetts and was shipped out to boarding school in St. Louis when I was 16. I decided that the Midwest was more my speed and stuck around after finishing school.

I have three kids. Maddox is two and a half and the twins (Camden & Sierra) turn two next this week. The twins are adopted and they've been with us since they were about five months old. My house is super-chaotic and a super-mess, but a lot of fun.

I used to leave notes around my house that said "Brooks is awesome!" My wife would change them to say "Brooks is awkward!" which is probably closer to the truth. When we painted the living room, I painted a big "Brooks is AWESOME" on the wall before I painted over it. If you look at that wall today at just the right angle and in just the right light, you can still faintly see a my message of self-empowerment.

When speaking at a construction technology conference a few years ago, I logged into an application using "brooks is awesome" as my login name. This got a log of laughs (expected) but also branded me as "awesome guy" (unexpected) for the rest of the conference.

The wife and I owned a coffee shop for three years. It turns out that despite the high cost of quality coffee products, it's very hard to make any money. Not recommended unless you hate yourself.

I played french horn in high school and college and I was pretty good at it! I used to play the trumpet pretty well too. I also play the guitar, badly.

I accidently minored in English. I was getting ready to graduate and I looked up the requirements for an English minor and it turned out that I had taken all the required classes - just for fun! A bit of paper-work and I had an instant English minor.

If I come to your house I'll judge you based on your bookshelf. And if not on your books, then your music.

SECOND - Answer these questions from Meg:

Are you a city mouse or a country mouse?I'm a city mouse living amongst the corn fields of western Illinois. I think that just makes me confused.

Where in the world would you live if you had the choice?Hawaii. I absolutely hate winter. Also, Austin.

Zombies are attacking, what one book do you take with you when you flee into the wilderness?Infinite Jest because it's super-long and my favorite book ever.

Do you have any unusual hobbies (e.g., collecting butterflies, building model cars, searching for Big Foot)?Nope. This book-blogging thing is the closest I've got to a hobby.

What's your favorite book of those you own, based on cover design only?John Sayles - A Moment In The Sun

What is your dream car, and what would you name it?My grandmother used to name her cars. She had a Volkswagen Rabbit named "Hazel." Look, at this moment, my dream car is one that is reliable and gets decent mileage.

Team Edward or Team Jacob? JUST KIDDING. More seriously, Team Angel or Team Spike?I have no idea what you're talking about. This is some kind of paranormal erotica, right? Like Spock and Kirk slash-fiction?

What is your favorite piece of artwork (you don't have to own it)?I'm not really an art guy, but whenever I see this thing at the St. Louis Art Museum, I stop and look for a long time. I think it's all the broken glass that I find so interesting.

Have you ever performed anything in front of an audience?Orchestra concerts from elementary school through college. Drama club in high school. I have been known to speak at the occasional conference, but that's a different kind of performance, I guess.

THIRD - Make up new questions

Pets. Tell me their name(s). If you don't have a pet, make up a name.

What book do you love but you are totally ashamed of?

You have the opportunity speak with your best friend from elementary school. What do you say to that person?

Why can't I wear gray with khaki? I think it looks good.

What's the last book you abandoned?

Pick your super-power - super-strength or invisibility

What's the last book that made you shed real tears?

What's your favorite movie?

Ernie or Bert?

The Cat In The Hat movie, starring Mike Meyers - is it a crime against humanity or a feel-good family movie?

What is something you hate doing as much as I hate making up these questions?

FOURTH - Tag people and make them do this thing too
It turn out that because I am so slow that the entire internet has already been tagged and there's nobody left. Unless you're a new site or whatever. I just can't lay this down on anybody and feel good about it. BUT if you want to tag yourself and just answer my stupid questions - please feel free.

As a consolation, I've attached two pictures. One of yrstruly and the other is the actual Valentine's Day card I got from my wife. She is addicted to the lady-crack that is Pinterest. I'm pretty excited about the message this card conveys because I was really getting worried...